Apple on Tuesday made a bid to change the world once again with the introduction of iPhone, a revolutionary mobile phone that also combines a widescreen touch-control iPod and breakthrough Internet communications device.

The iPhone introduces an entirely new Mac OS X-based user interface built around a large multi-touch display and pioneering new software that lets users control the device with just their fingers. iPhone also ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones.

"iPhone is a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone," said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. "We are all born with the ultimate pointing device -- our fingers -- and iPhone uses them to create the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse."

iPhone is a Revolutionary Mobile Phone

The iPhone lets users place calls by simply pointing at a name or number. It syncs contacts from their PC, Mac or Internet service such as Yahoo!, so that users always have their full list of up-to-date contacts with them. In addition, the device can easily construct a favorites list for the most frequently made calls, and easily merge calls together to create conference calls.

iPhone's pioneering Visual Voicemail, an industry first, allows users to visually browse a listing of their voicemails, decide which messages to listen to, then go directly to those messages without listening to the prior messages. Just like email, iPhone's Visual Voicemail enables immediate random access those messages that are most vital.

Apple said iPhone includes an SMS application with a full QWERTY soft keyboard to easily send and receive SMS messages in multiple sessions. When users need to type, iPhone presents them with an elegant touch keyboard which is predictive to prevent and correct mistakes, making it much easier and more efficient to use than the small plastic keyboards on many smartphones. iPhone also includes a calendar application that allows calendars to be automatically synced with your PC or Mac.

Included with each iPhone is a 2 megapixel camera and a photo management application that is far beyond anything available on a cellular phone today. Users can browse their photo library, which can be easily synced from their PC or Mac, with just a flick of a finger and easily choose a photo for their wallpaper or to include in an email.

iPhone is a quad-band GSM phone which also features EDGE and Wi-Fi wireless technologies for data networking. Apple has chosen Cingular, the most popular carrier in the US with over 58 million subscribers, to be its exclusive carrier partner for iPhone in the US.

iPhone is a Widescreen iPod

iPhone also duals as a widescreen iPod with touch controls that lets music lovers "touch" their music by easily scrolling through entire lists of songs, artists, albums and playlists with just a flick of a finger. Album artwork is presented in stunning fashion on iPhone's large and vibrant display using Cover Flow, Apple's visual software for browsing music libraries by album cover artwork. When navigating a music library on iPhone, users are automatically switched into Cover Flow by simply rotating iPhone into its landscape position.

Apple has built a stunning 3.5-inch widescreen display into each iPhone, offering an unrivaled experience for watching TV shows and movies on a pocketable device, with touch controls for play-pause, chapter forward-backward and volume. iPhone plays the same videos purchased from the online iTunes Store that users enjoy watching on their computers and iPods, and will soon enjoy watching on their widescreen televisions using the new Apple TV.

iPhone lets users enjoy all their iPod content, including music, audiobooks, audio podcasts, video podcasts, music videos, television shows and movies. It syncs content from a user's iTunes library on their PC or Mac, and can play any music or video content they have purchased from the online iTunes store.

iPhone is a Breakthrough Internet Communications Device

In addition to its cellular and iPod features, iPhone also features a rich HTML email client that fetches email in the background from most POP3 or IMAP mail services and displays photos and graphics right along with the text. iPhone is fully multi-tasking, so users can be reading a web page while downloading their email in the background.

Yahoo! Mail, the world's largest email service with over 250 million users, is offering a new free "push" IMAP email service to all iPhone users that automatically pushes new email to a user's iPhone, and can be set up by simply entering your Yahoo! name and password. iPhone will also work with most industry standard IMAP and POP based email services, such as Microsoft Exchange, Apple .Mac Mail, AOL Mail, Google Gmail and most ISP mail services.

Apple said iPhone features "the most advanced and fun-to-use web browser on a portable device" within a version of its award-winning Safari web browser. Users can see any web page the way it was designed to be seen, and then easily zoom in to expand any section by simply tapping on iPhone's multi- touch display with their finger. Users can surf the web from just about anywhere over Wi-Fi or EDGE, and can automatically sync their bookmarks from their PC or Mac. iPhone's Safari web browser also includes built-in Google Search and Yahoo! Search so users can instantly search for information on their iPhone just like they do on their computer.

Furthermore, iPhone includes Google Maps, featuring Google's groundbreaking maps service and iPhone's new maps application, offering the best maps experience by far on any pocket device. Users can view maps, satellite images, traffic information and get directions, all from iPhone's remarkable and easy- to-use touch interface.

iPhone's Advanced Sensors

The iPhone employs advanced built-in sensors -- an accelerometer, a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor -- that automatically enhance the user experience and extend battery life. iPhone's built-in accelerometer detects when the user has rotated the device from portrait to landscape, then automatically changes the contents of the display accordingly, with users immediately seeing the entire width of a web page, or a photo in its proper landscape aspect ratio.

iPhone's built-in proximity sensor detects when you lift iPhone to your ear and immediately turns off the display to save power and prevent inadvertent touches until iPhone is moved away. iPhone's built-in ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the display's brightness to the appropriate level for the current ambient light, thereby enhancing the user experience and saving power at the same time.

Pricing & Availability

iPhone will be available in the US in June 2007, Europe in late 2007, and Asia in 2008, in a 4GB model for $499 (US) and an 8GB model for $599 (US), and will work with either a PC or Mac. iPhone will be sold in the US through Apple's retail and online stores, and through Cingular's retail and online stores. Several iPhone accessories will also be available in June, including Apple's new remarkably compact Bluetooth headset.

iPhone requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X v10.4.8 or later and iTunes 7; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4), Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 2). Internet access is required and a broadband connection is recommended. Apple and Cingular will announce service plans for iPhone before it begins shipping in June.

Learn More About iPhone

To learn more about iPhone, users can visit Apple.com or watch the video of the iPhone introduction.

Well yes I will give you the cover art regardless of how many songs, but if you look at the demo on apples site they are scrolling through WAY more than 7 albums. Add to that 7 albums a movie or two, various videos of star wars kids and monkey's sniffing their butts, and a bunch of photos and 8gb doesn't feel so big.

exactly. Give me the same thing with Wifi and VoIP, and I'll be stoked. You can keep the Cingular stuff. I'll keep the camera for video chat. And make it 100GB for $450.

Just looking at the video of this phone on the apple website and I have to think on the ipod demo that all of those albums they are flipping through couldn't fit on 8gb.

Apple suggests 128kbps AAC on its music players (even if you don't use this). At that bitrate, supposing 4 minutes per song, they claim that 8GB will hold 2000 songs. This is 8000 minutes of music. If the average CD is actually about 60 minutes long (which is probably an over-estimation), then the iPhone will hold 130 albums. With this number in mind, I don't think that the cover flow view mis-represents this number of albums.

Here's how I see it: today, we are talking about a phone, but tomorrow, it will grow into an entirely new computing platform.

Not before today could we envision the convergence of the necessary technologies to make this happen :
- Fast low-power processors with 3d graphics embedded in them
- Lots of affordable flash memory for mass storage
- VGA resolution screens in small sizes
- New touchscreen technology that enable a new form of UI input and makes actual physical buttons almost irrelevant
- Next generation wireless standards to achieve broadband speeds anywhere one might go

What Apple needs to do now is to make the right stack of software to enable this new paradigm in computing. You have to remember that Apple is about making the computer personal. What is more personal than your mobile phone? Bring your music and videos, take pictures and show them on your phone, surf the web, edit your data. This is not about making a phone anymore, but rather about building a platform to enable people to do common tasks on their mobile. Maybe it would require a "dock" Ã* la iPod in order to do even more stuff on a big screen with a keyboard and mouse when one feels like it. Maybe it will need to be synchronised with some sort of "home server". Maybe everything will be backed up online on your .Mac account. I don't know. All I know is that people are now purchasing laptops instead of desktops computers, and in the future (5-10 years from now) their phone will do it all, given the right software.

Another advantage is that millions (if not billions) of people who have never used a computer before would suddenly be able to access more computing power than what we could imagine in a PC only a few years ago. This will enable them to do all the things we take for granted today with only one small integrated device.

I guess the real question is how long until we see unlocked phones in the marketplace? My guess is around the timeframe of the European launch, but frankly with Apple I don't feel like that's 100% given.

Yeah I think Apple put them selves in a real tough situation. I want a new iPod that will have much more than just 8 GBs! I think we will see much of the iPhone interface in the new iPod. After all, one is a phone with iPod features and one will just be an iPod. Should be easy enough.

Apple will do what is logical--- introduce a phone that has the least capacity and as the months go by, there will be upgrades that will include bigger drives and the cost will stay the same. Two years from now, it will be a 60 G device! This is how you draw in new customers and get the original customers to rebuy. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

This is an amazing, yet logical device and --- Zune??? Zoom!!!! Bye bye. So, iPods will be updated and the distinction in pricing will become clearer to differentiate the class of device you are buying-- as in, the iPod line will get better and cheaper as the iPhone takes off. Apple never paints itself into a corner!!! Not these days. After all, there are some pretty smart people figuring out the market angles at Apple. I don't think you ever need to worry about them making a big marketing mistake-- not THIS iteration of Apple Inc.

When I first heard rumors about the new iPhone being Cingular only, I said to myself that even an Apple phone could not make me swith from Verizon. Consider me a big LIAR. The iPhone is totally stunning! What an achievement by Apple. It has surpassed all my expectations of what a good phone should be. I am more than willing to switch carriers to have this thing in my hands. I'm sure people are going to complain about the price and the storage but hey, have you seen how much smart phones are going for? And as fantastic as this phone is, I'm still not going to have it replace my dedicated music player -- my iPod, so having 4g or 8g is just right for my needs. It's going to be interesting to see how the rest of the industry reacts to this.

I love the Cover Browser on the device. Also, the way a cover flips to reveal the play buttons on the back truly is a genius

And all the rest is CRAP Sorry to say this about Apple.

So, what went wrong:

1- Transferring the big screen Safari to a phoney screen Why Steve, why? The widgets are truly great! Let people design more widgets and get rid of Safari as we know it on a tiny screen!

2- Using a eeneeweenee tiny touchkeyboard I bet I could type so much quicker using a scroll wheel! I actually used to have a scroll wheel on the side of my Sony which was such a joy to use!

3- Introducing Google maps is a very childish way of navigation, so itsa Exit Apple, enter TomTom.

4- your fingers are not the best pointing device! Not everyone has beautifull sculpted fingers. + using a finger will obscure all the rest of the screen. Sorry

Maybe, I should consider leaving cosy chocolateley Belgium and applying for a job in California. Apple could do much better. Sorry Steve, this Windows phone is a joke, isn't it?!

Your problems don't seem to be with the iPhone, instead, with functions like touchscreen electronics in general. Please, stay in chocolatelely Belgium, your design comments (Widgets instead of Safari!) I think contradict the general feelings of most Mac users. I could be wrong, but this is from my impressions.

First I'm a bit disappointed with the lack of new hardware introductions today of the PC type. Some products are just due for refresh.

That however is not IPhone related, but even here I'm disappointed.

First; the phone costs way to much, especially if forced into a 2 year contract with Cingular. I'm hoping that by June they realize the errors of their ways and set a more reasonable price. I haven't seen Cingulars contract for this device, but lets face it it won't be to the users advantage.

Second; Way to little storage especially considering the price. I'm hoping again that Apple sees its errors here by release time. I mean really they try to sell a multimedia device with barely enough room for a few tunes and pics, 8 gigabytes should have been the minimal configuration with 16 and 32 gigs of solid state storage offered. For this device I very much want solid state storage.

The other concerns I might have won't be answerable right away, at least I did not see the info anywhere. The questions I have are somewhat technical but revolve around the following.
1.
What is the processor in the unit. Is the machine code compatible with current Intel based Macs or is this an ARM based machine?
2.
What is cross development like?
3.
Does the installation of user apps, assuming it is possible, impact storage for your multimedia stuff. In other words does the machine have a separate storage area for OS/X apps and data so that multimedia storage space is not impacted? For example if I'm on the road for a week, will all the E-Mail received plug up storage space for the iPod storage? This could very well be a huge issue with the rather small amount of storage available.
4.
Does the unit retain all of the traditional IPod Apps. That is the stop watch and such.
5.
Can the iPhone operate as a USB host. That is can one use an adapter cable to hook up to a portable USB storage device. This could be very useful and with a few OS/X scripts would allow the off load of a lot of data that doesn't need to be kept on the iPhone.
6.
On a variant of the above I'm wondering if Apple or Cingular will support easy access to off line storage through .Mac or what ever. This in place of item #5 above. The goal would be to make this off phone storage transparent to the user.
7.
I do hope that they support in flight mode.

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All in all an interesting effort. I suppose this early release has something to do with getting the public FCC approval. I'm slightly hopeful that the info currently offered up relative to storage is preliminary and that they acknowledge the need for far greater solid state storage. No mention was made of extra user installed storage either.

All in all it looks like an interesting effort that is grossly over priced. Kind of typical for Apple. I won't make up my mind though until I can actually walk into a store and try it out. June is a long ways off but right now it appears to be a bit of a boondoggle.

Incredible. The most impressive device to come out of Apple IMO. I've been watching demos of the device at Apple's website and it is amazing. I will definately be getting one. RIM, Moto and Nokia; I feel sorry for you. Your marketshare is about to evaporate.

We know that the iPhone exists, and that it's features are much better than we expected, now we need to discuss the details....

- How much space does OS X for iPhone take up?
- Will OS X use up some of the 4 or 8GB of NAND, or it stored separately?
- What CPU does the phone have?
- Could be ported over to other smart phones?
- Will it require iTunes 8 to function?
- How will it sync with address books on Windows?
- Will it work with T-Mobile snce it has a sim card?
- How are they able to keep the iPhone name in light first-to-market and trademarking by Cisco?
- Can I use Skype for Wi-Fi calls or will iChat supply a similair, seamless function?
- Will there be developer notes from creating 3rd-party software?
- Can the accelerometer work like Nike+?

LET THE SPECULATION BEGIN!!!

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

We know that the iPhone exists, and that it's features are much better than we expected, now we need to discuss the details....

- How much space does OS X for iPhone take up?
- What CPU does the phone have?
- Could be ported over to other smart phones?
- Will it require iTunes 8 to function?
- How will it sync with address books on Windows?
- Will it work with T-Mobile snce it has a sim card?
- How are they able to keep the iPhone name in light first-to-market and trademarking by Cisco?
- Can I use Skype for Wi-Fi calls or will iChat supply a similair, seamless function?
- Will there be developer notes from creating 3rd-party software?
- Can the accelerometer work like Nike+?

While we know the answer to some of these we don't know them all.

What we do know, or can figure out;

The OS will not be allowed to be ported over. That should be obvious.

It will sync, but how...

It has a sim card, but that doesn't mean it can be exchanged as yet. Apple has an exclusive multi year contract with Cingular. Perhaps if they sell phones in their stores.

Apple signed a deal today, allowing them to use the name.

Likely 3rd party software will be coming out, as he said that applications would be available, and didn't just say Apple apps.

I will get one of these phones, depending on how much I get off for upgrading. My concern is, with the wifi, would i be using Cingulars data plan or be able to use open/my own wifi networks. To be charged data useage for using Wifi seems insane to me.

I love the Cover Browser on the device. Also, the way a cover flips to reveal the play buttons on the back truly is a genius

And all the rest is CRAP Sorry to say this about Apple.

So, what went wrong:

1- Transferring the big screen Safari to a phoney screen Why Steve, why? The widgets are truly great! Let people design more widgets and get rid of Safari as we know it on a tiny screen!

2- Using a eeneeweenee tiny touchkeyboard I bet I could type so much quicker using a scroll wheel! I actually used to have a scroll wheel on the side of my Sony which was such a joy to use!

3- Introducing Google maps is a very childish way of navigation, so itsa Exit Apple, enter TomTom.

4- your fingers are not the best pointing device! Not everyone has beautifull sculpted fingers. + using a finger will obscure all the rest of the screen. Sorry

For part one, I suggest looking at the demo videos on Apple's site. I think it does a pretty good job of it, it looks like it does the job a lot better than any other program I've seen for small screens. In light of that, getting rid of Safari is a silly suggestion, it might as well not be a smart phone if it can't access the internet like other smart phones can.

3: itsa?

4: I can see how they might have worked on custom touch pad designs to make this work right, but the proof would be in actually trying it. If you don't like it, I can imagine that you could just buy a stylus or use a retracted plastic pen.

A law just passed, maybe a month ago, that requires all Cell phone companies to provide unlocking codes to anyone who wants to unlock their phone and use it on any network. There was a link on foxnews.com but I lost it. Do a google search and I'm sure it will come up. I don't think Apple would mind this, seeing that they will make 200 - 300 more for selling a phone without a contract.

Quote:

Originally Posted by melgross

While we know the answer to some of these we don't know them all.

What we do know, or can figure out;

The OS will not be allowed to be ported over. That should be obvious.

It will sync, but how...

It has a sim card, but that doesn't mean it can be exchanged as yet. Apple has an exclusive multi year contract with Cingular. Perhaps if they sell phones in their stores.

Apple signed a deal today, allowing them to use the name.

Likely 3rd party software will be coming out, as he said that applications would be available, and didn't just say Apple apps.

Hmmm. Almost a year to wait for it here in the UK and the specs for the phone will be a bit tame by then. They're a bit tame now.

2MP camera ? Huh? in 2007 in a high end phone?

No 3G. No HSDPA or HSUPA. No second camera for video calls. That probably rules it out for some of the more interesting carriers like '3' here who have unlimited data plans.

They glossed over the WiFi features too. Does it support UMA? Can you use iChat for voice calls over wifi?

I also hope the software gets a load more features than shown currently before release. I'm sure it will and appreciate they only had a 2 hour keynote to show them but it's missing a few niceties I'm used to on my p910i.

A law just passed, maybe a month ago, that requires all Cell phone companies to provide unlocking codes to anyone who wants to unlock their phone and use it on any network. There was a link on foxnews.com but I lost it. Do a google search and I'm sure it will come up. I don't think Apple would mind this, seeing that they will make 200 - 300 more for selling a phone without a contract.

I haven't heard this, but if you would care to find it, I'm sure we would read it.

I predicted this (whoo hoo Im a pundit now ). Why all the whining about the price? did you really think apple would release an unlocked phone for $199? LOL

This phone has to be priced WAY ABOVE the ipods because it is NOT MEANT to replace them or cannibalize ipod sales. This is a high end expensive boutique phone for people with money to burn. Nothing there is really that amazing, it is just well presented and polished phone, but nothing that will be revolutionary for now. it doesnt even have 3G support yet. (I can see the next version with it, once all the early adopters have bought the current model).

The price quoted is you get the phone for that price and you pay your monthly fee from Cingular. This is how it works. They offer many phones for a discount with their service. Sorry, but this is how it is, they (Cingular) would lose money any other way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffDM

I don't know if that's worded right, it's easy to read it as if you get two years of phone service included in that price, but that is extra.

Hmmm. Almost a year to wait for it here in the UK and the specs for the phone will be a bit tame by then. They're a bit tame now.

2MP camera ? Huh? in 2007 in a high end phone?

No 3G. No HSDPA or HSUPA. No second camera for video calls. That probably rules it out for some of the more interesting carriers like '3' here who have unlimited data plans.

They glossed over the WiFi features too. Does it support UMA? Can you use iChat for voice calls over wifi?

I also hope the software gets a load more features than shown currently before release. I'm sure it will and appreciate they only had a 2 hour keynote to show them but it's missing a few niceties I'm used to on my p910i.

It does look gorgeous though and I do so want one.

Right, with that out the way, where were the Mac announcements?

That were it! He said that they sold well this quarter, and that was all they were going to say about them.

Perhaps, we can only hope, they will make more announcements later in the show.

What a lackluster open for MacWorld. The iPhone is a cool gadget but I don't think it's a truly revolutionary product that will change much. Some tech-savvy people will drool all over it, but it's not what the average customer wants. I expect when Apple looks back in a few years the iPhone will be one of the biggest disappoints to go with the AppleTV.

For one, they are WAY too expensive. Granted they're PCs, but you could buy a laptop for the price of either iPhone or you could get another PDA/phone thingy that's not as impressive but costs half or more what the iPhone costs. Apple hopes for 1%, but I think they'll be fortunate to get half that - I see this as a major misread of the market.

As for AppleTV, I don't get it. I'm an iPod lover and I love my Mac too, but I don't want to shell out $300 for the ability to watch it on my TV. Why can't you team up with DirecTV and come up with an HD recorder, iTunes, DirecTV box?

The iPhone would be cool if it translates to the iPod WITHOUT the cell phone portions. I already have a cell phone and I have no interest in joining Cingular, one of the worst carriers I've ever dealt with. Verizon is much better for me, especially with the wireless service becoming better integrated with the larger company. I'll save money with FiOs, cell service, phone all on one bill. I like Apple, but I and so many others won't switch providers - besides, I like CDMA much better than GSM. While GSM is the global standard, most cell phones in NA are CDMA (Verizon+Sprint+Alltel+Metro+several others).